Debate 109
Summary: Jeff is convinced to join the debate team with Annie for a championship debate against Greendale's rival school City College. Meanwhile, Shirley gets spooked by the accuracy of Abed's short films of the study group which seem to predict their future. Plot In the study room, Pierce is trying to tell a story to the study group when Britta suddenly snaps, angrily insulting him and threatening him to stop talking.' Jeff '''explains her bad mood to everyone by letting them know that she is trying to quit smoking. Pierce offers to assist by using his expertise with hypnosis. Jeff is surprised when Britta agrees, but she explains that she's letting him help her out of pity. '''Troy' arrives, anxious to show the group something he found posted online by the Greendale AV Club: they're short films called "The Community College Chronicles" created by Abed. The study group becomes disturbed when they realize that not only are the characters and events on the show inspired by them, but that the situations depicted also seem to predict their future. Later in the hallway, Jeff is confronted by Dean Pelton, Professor Whitman, and Annie. They explain that they need his help at the Debate Championship Finals against City College being held that night. Annie's partner is sick, and as a former lawyer, he is the best candidate to help her go up against Jeremy "Soulpatch" Simmons. After a little convincing, namely a faculty parking spot for his Lexus, Jeff agrees to help. Meanwhile, Britta is preparing to be hypnotized by Pierce in the school's music room. It's clear Pierce has no idea what he's doing, but Britta plays along. The hypnosis session ends with Pierce falling and injuring his leg as Britta tries to pretend that she is still under. Back in the study room, Annie tries to get Jeff to discuss strategy, but he is unwilling, feeling that a former lawyer can easily handle a mere college debate. Britta shows up and tells Jeff about the disastrous hypnotherapy session with Pierce. Troy and Shirley then arrive, still bothered by Abed's films. When Abed finally appears, he notices the group is disturbed by his presence and immediately figures out that they saw his films. He explains that his films are simply based on his observations of them and are not predictions of their future. He shows them the latest episode to make his point but only ends up freaking them out even more when Pierce arrives with an injury similar to one that his character suffered on the show. Later in the school's gymnasium, the debate championship begins. The argument is whether man is good or evil. After Annie finishes her opening statement, Jeremy Simmons is introduced. The audience erupts in applause, filled with his supporters from of City College. When it's Jeff's turn to counter, he chooses a more informal approach. He plays to the crowd and the judges and charms them into singing along with him. After he finishes, he is shocked to learn that he received zero points. The debate is interrupted when the basketball team arrives for practice. Dean Pelton suspends the rest of the debate until tomorrow and urges Jeff to get his act together. Outside the gymnasium, Jeff is furious over his poor performance. A smug Jeremy Simmons appears and starts to taunt Jeff. Annie defends him which causes Simmons to start mocking her past Adderall addiction. Jeff puts an end to it by promising Simmons that tomorrow, they'll be better prepared. In the library, Troy is crying after Britta insults him; Shirley remembers the same thing happened in Abed's film and goes to confront him again. Abed once more explains that his prescience is just based on knowing how everyone would react to certain situations. Shirley believes him only after seeing another clip from his film, which has her character being chased by a werewolf as well as the Jeff and Annie characters kissing. In the study room, Jeff and Annie are preparing for the second half of the debate. When Jeff experiences a stress headache, Annie tells him that such things are to be expected and that winning means doing the work. Jeff agrees but offers that she needs to loosen up and go off book if she wants to win. Annie takes his advice and removes the clip holding her hair back. Jeff suddenly becomes aware of how attractive she is. Shirley interrupts and warns them not to kiss as Abed had predicted they would in his film. After she leaves, tension develops which Annie tries to defuse by refocusing on the debate. Unfortunately, her décolletage and the use of a particularly suggestive quote proves too distracting. Jeff quickly exits, not even bothering to grab his phone. ' Debate 109 There is none righteous, no not one.png|"There is none righteous, no, not one." Debate 109 Simmons realizes it's on.png Debate 109 Annie tells Simmons it's on.png Debate 109 survival of the fittest wires an impulse to our brains.png|link=Survival of the fittest wires an impulse to our brain... '''Back in the music room, Pierce continues his hypnotherapy sessions with Britta. Supposedly under a deep trance, he notices that Britta is awake. He goads her into lashing out at him by suggesting she join him for a three-way in a hot tub. He tells her that he knew she was faking, indignant at her deception. Britta tells him she was only trying to make him feel better about himself, but Pierce says he doesn't need her pity and storms off. At the debate championship, Simmons finishes his opening argument on the goodness of man. Jeff starts his rebuttal, ignoring Simmons taunts. After Jeff offers up a compelling counterpoint, Simmons cockiness disappears. The debate becomes fierce as both sides present their arguments. After Professor Whitman praises Jeff and Annie's teamwork, Dean Pelton informs them that Greendale is in the lead. It's City College's turn to rebut and Britta, who is in the audience along with the rest of the study group, can't take the pressure and leaves to go smoke a cigarette. Simmons then decides on a desperate gambit: to sacrifice his own body for the rebuttal. He directs his motorized wheelchair to move toward his opponents at top speed. An abrupt stop launches him straight at Jeff who instinctively catches him. Simmons then declares that because he was caught by someone who hates him, man is good. Thinking quickly, Annie grabs Jeff and kisses him. He immediately drops Simmons, and Annie declares that Jeff was horny and dropped Simmons; therefore, man is evil. The judges declare Greendale the winner. The Greendale students erupt in celebration which continues outside. Abed is trying to convince Shirley that just because the kiss happened, it doesn't mean a werewolf will chase her. He tries to prove his point by mentioning that in his next film, Pierce is revealed to be a genius. Abed then overhears Britta calling Pierce a genius and telling him that his hypnotherapy worked: cigarettes disgust her now because all she can think of is being in a three-way with him. When he overhears Professor Whitman saying that there is a full moon tonight, he leaves to find Shirley. Jeff and Annie exit the gymnasium, and he congratulates her for the win. They both go in for a hug, but the awkward tension they experienced earlier is still there. At her insistence, he simply pats her on the head, and they both run off in different directions. End tag Abed and Troy are directing the actors who are playing them on "The Community College Chronicles" but are unable to get them to do the La Biblioteca rap to their satisfaction. Recurring themes Continuity: *'First appearance': Greendale's rival school City College is introduced in this episode. *'Returning faculty': Professor Whitman from "Social Psychology" returns in this episode as the debate coach. *'Streets ahead: Abed is able to predict several things in this episode based on his character observations of the group. Notably, his prediction about the attraction between Jeff and Annie ended up shiftng the dynamic of the relationship between them. *'''A nice gesture: Jeff pats Annie on the head twice in this episode. It's a gesture he repeats several times throughout the show and that he fully explains in the Season 3 episode "Geography of Global Coflict". Running gags: *'Attention students'!: Dean Pelton announces the upcoming debate amidst his usual ramblings. *'Catch phrases': Troy "This is wrinkling my brain!", Shirley's "That's nice!" *'Annie's Boobs': Annie's cleavage proves too distracting and tempting for Jeff. Meta references: *'Resume: Professor Whitman mentions the E! channel when asking Jeff (Joel McHale) to join the debate team. McHale is the host of E! channels "The Soup". Pop culture references: *'Shout out': After Jeff finishes singing his argument, the female judge tells him that he's competing in a debate, not American Idol. Jeff tells Annie that he's not iCarly when she tries to use reverse psychology on him. *'Name that tune''': "Evil Women" by ELO, "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Quotes Trivia DVD commentaries for this episode revealed that a minor subplot involving Annie's attraction to Simmons was deemed unnecessary once the chemistry between Annie and Jeff was shown to be strong enough to carry the episode by itself. A full script of the episode containing the original versions of key scenes including the Simmons/Annie interactions as well as an extended debate sequence where Simmons uses a baby for his rebuttal can be found here Images Debate 109 The study group.jpeg|The study group watches in the audience. Debate 109 Jeff makes a speech.jpeg|Jeff makes a speech during his debate. Debate 109 Jeff in debate.jpeg|Jeff makes a speech during the debate. Debate 109 annie with jeff.jpeg|Jeff and Annie study for the debate. Debate 109 Annie talks.jpeg|Annie talks anout how man is evil when Jeff dropped the opponent when Annie kissed Jeff. Debate 109 Annie in the study group.jpeg|Annie listens to the group. Debate 109 Annie and Jeff look on.jpeg|Jeff and Annie look on at their opponents for the debate. Category:Season 1 Episodes Category:Community Episodes